One of the many good things about winter is the fact the clothes are heavier, which in turn means that the odd extra kilo or three is less noticeable. In other words, you can eat more, and it doesn't matter so much. There's always the spring for getting in shape.

So: good news for those of us relaxing into our winter clothes is the fact that there's a massive chocolate festival in Temple Bar in the preChristmas season. I'm trying to persuade my boss to pay for me to go to some of the non-free events as part of my cooking education, but so far he hasn't been won over. But I'm gonna keep trying!

In other news, I'm wearing my boyfriend's clothes :-) One of the great perks of being in a couple, or at least being the female part of the couple, is that your wardrobe effectively doubles. I'm tall, so all his sweaters and shirts fit me quite well and in this chilly weather there's nothing like man-clothes to warm you up!